But chairman Tim Martin warned that its expansion plans may be scaled back in the face of more tax hikes.

The chain, which has 850 pubs, is set to open 50 sites in the year to July – but said future openings may slow drastically if Chancellor George Osborne presses ahead with planned increases in duty.

Mr Martin has called on him to scrap the rises in alcohol duty, which have been going up above the rate of inflation in recent years. He will wait for the Chancellor’s Budget speech before deciding whether the current rate of expansion can continue.

The chain posted a 3.6% rise in like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to January 15. That is up by 1.1% on the previous quarter.

However, the latest figures were flattered by comparisons with a weaker performance in the previous December when Arctic blizzards kept people at home.

The group said its profit margins fell in the second quarter of its financial year as it struggled to pass on the rising cost of VAT, alcohol duty and higher food and drink costs to cash-strapped consumers.

Mr Martin said: “If taxes continue to rise, we will have to look closely at our expansion plans.

“We are already paying too much duty and it’s not a viable proposition for the Government to punish pubs in this way. It’s driving people away from pubs and it’s bad for jobs.”

Mr Martin, who started the chain in 1979, said supermarkets had an unfair advantage over pubs because they do not to have to pay VAT on food sales.

He claimed this allowed them to subsidise beer and steal sales from the pub industry.

Pubs have been closing at a rate of about 14 a week between December, 2010, and June, according to figures from campaign group Camra.

The sector has suffered in the wake of the smoking ban and as the squeeze in consumer spending sees more people buy cheap drink from supermarkets.